AHPRA publishes Queensland complaints performance data

08 May 2015

AHPRA and the National Boards have today published detailed performance data about notifications management in Queensland.

Under the complaints management system in Queensland in place since July 2014, AHPRA will provide quarterly data about its performance in managing notifications, to the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO).

These data provide quantitative information about the number of complaints received and timelines for managing them. The report is published on the Statistics page.

Analysis of these data, detailing matters managed by AHPRA and the National Boards between 1 July 2014 and 31 March 2015, indicates:

• Complaint referral patterns from the OHO to AHPRA are variable month on month. This reflects the fact that it is relatively early in Queensland’s new co-regulatory arrangements to establish a consistent pattern in the number of complaints the OHO will refer to AHPRA to manage and how many it will retain
• On early trends, AHPRA is receiving 50 per cent fewer complaints than for the comparable period in 2013/14. This suggests the OHO is not accepting, retaining and/or closing most matters that the Ombudsman considers do not warrant further action. Of those we manage, more than 70 per cent require further regulatory action.
• Investigation timelines continues to be a major focus for AHPRA and the Boards. 67 of the matters open with AHPRA for longer than 18 months are about 25 practitioners. Multiple complaints about the same practitioner require more complex investigations.

AHPRA’s priority in the next quarter is to continue to decrease the time it takes to investigate matters, finalise more old investigations and continue work to improve the notifier and practitioner experience.

AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said publishing complaints management performance data was consistent with our commitment to transparency and accountability in the National Scheme.

‘It is early days in the new co-regulatory arrangements in Queensland and we are committed to continuing our close work with the OHO and government to ensure that the Queensland community is well served by the changes,’ Mr Fletcher said.

AHPRA also plans to improve its public reporting of performance data nationally throughout the next financial year.

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Download a PDF of this Media statement - AHPRA publishes Queensland complaints performance data - 8 May 2015 (284 KB,PDF)